Beginning German | Basic German | Intermediate German
Der-word Case for German Nouns
Case | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Gender | Nominativ | Genitiv | Dativ | Akkusativ |
masculine | der | des | dem | den |
feminine | die | der | der | die |
neuter | das | des | dem | das |
plural* | die | der | den | die |
* The same regardless of singular noun gender
Personal Pronoun Tables: nominative, genitive, dative & accusative cases
Nominative case personal pronouns
The nominative case is used as the subject of a verb.
1st person | ich | I | wir | we |
---|---|---|---|---|
2nd person | du (Sie*) | you | ihr (Sie*) | you |
3rd person | er, sie, es | he, she, it | sie | they |
*Polite form.
Genitive case personal pronouns
The genitive case corresponds to the possessive case in English or to the English objective case preceded by 'of' and denoting possession. The use of genitive personal pronouns is very rare in German and many Germans are unable to use them correctly.
1st person | meiner | my | unser | our |
---|---|---|---|---|
2nd person | deiner (Ihrer*) | your | eurer (Ihrer*) | your |
3rd person | seiner, ihrer, seiner | his, her, its | ihrer | their |
*Polite form.
Examples:
- Ich erbarme mich eurer. ~ I take pity on you(rs).
- meiner unbedeutenden Meinung nach. ~ in my humble opinion (IMHO)
Dative case personal pronouns
The personal pronouns in the dative case are used as indirect objects of verbs and after the prepositions aus, außer, bei, mit, nach, seit, von, zu.
1st person | mir | me | uns | us |
---|---|---|---|---|
2nd person | dir (Ihnen*) | you | euch (Ihnen*) | you |
3rd person | ihm, ihr, ihm | him, her, it | ihnen | them |
*Polite form.
Accusative case personal pronouns
The personal pronouns in the accusative case are used as direct objects of transitve verbs and after the prepositions durch, für, gegen, ohne, um.
1st person | mich | me | uns | us |
---|---|---|---|---|
2nd person | dich (Sie*) | you | euch (Sie*) | you |
3rd person | ihn, sie, es | him, her, it | sie | them |
* Polite form.